Game Plan
by redcandle
Summary: Set during PoA. Marcus Flint has a new strategy: seduce one of the Gryffindor players to mess with their heads. He chooses Katie Bell. Remember, in life things never going according to the plan. Completed.
1. Marcus's Plan

"Game Plan"

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K Rowling.

Author's Note: I wrote this before it was confirmed that Katie was indeed a year younger than Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia. So, consider this a AU.

Marcus Flint was not handsome, not charming, not intelligent, not popular; and he knew all that. He knew that he wasn't hideous either, he noticed the way girls looked at him when he wore tight tee shirts during the summer. He wasn't charming, or the beloved of the school, like Diggory. But he managed to get what he needed or wanted from people - even when he had to resort to using threats of curses or beatings. He wasn't a Ravenclaw, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew enough to know what he wanted and how to get it.

What he wanted, now, was a Gryffindor. Not just any Gryffindor, but one of their Quidditch players. He had a new game plan. Part of it was changing his Quidditch strategy to emphasize brute force and dirty plays more than ever. The other part was fucking with the minds of the Gryffindor players. He wasn't worried about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, he was confident he could easily beat them; even if Harry Potter couldn't . The thought made him snicker. Gryffindor, he did worry about though. They'd beaten Slytherin for the past two years, although they had yet to win the Quidditch Cup. Having to repeat his seventh year was humiliating enough, he wasn't going to endure losing to Gryffindor on top of it.

He scanned the Gryffindor table, eyes resting on the members of their Quidditch team. There was Potter, Marcus dismissed him right away. He wasn't interested in children. There were the Weasley twins - Marcus shuddered at that thought. Never, ever, ever would he fuck a Weasley, even for the sake of retaining the Quidditch Cup. That left Wood and his chasers. Wood was the captain, fucking with him would fuck with the entire team. But that'd be hard to do, Wood didn't seem to notice anything not involving a quaffle, bludger, and snitch. The girls would be easier, well, relatively speaking. Marcus honestly couldn't imagine one of them falling for him without the aid of a love potion. Besides being the enemy, he wasn't their type. Johnson's type was apparently Weasley trash. Spinnet's type was scrawny, long-haired, poetry-reading Ravenclaws. Bell's type was Wood. Hmm, that had possibilities. Wood never seemed to notice his chaser staring longingly at him. Maybe she'd be willing to accept Marcus as a substitute.

Yeah, he'd try to seduce Katie Bell in order to psych out the Gryffindors and prevent them from beating his team this year. He laughed at the thought of how much he was willing to sacrifice for the good of his house. Pucey glanced at him with a mixture of curiousity and resentment, still upset at being thrown off the team and onto the reserves. Marcus glared at him, pleased when the Fifth Year looked away. Marcus grinned, seducing Bell would be a pleasure on its own as well as part of his game strategy.

It was easier said than done. As a seventh year, Marcus didn't have any classes with Bell. The only times he saw her were during meals in the Great Hall, in the hallways between classes, and outside during Quidditch matches. In any case, he needed to know what would get to her before he approached her. He consulted the Fifth Years on the team, Montague, Warrington, and Bletchley, on what they knew about Bell after practice one afternoon.

"The boggart turned into a hag when it was her turn during Defense Against the Dark Arts," Warrington volunteered. Well, that was a fairly common fear. It didn't reveal any personal traumas.

"She always prepares an extra vial of potion, in case one of us trips her on her way to Snape," Montague said. So she was cautious.

"Why do you want to know, anyway?" Bletchley asked, curiously. Marcus glowered at him. "All right, all right," he said. "She spends every Tuesday and Thursday evenings studying in the library." She had a routine. "She's always glaring at me when I'm trying to snog Drusilla there," Bletchley was complaining.

He needed to insinuate himself into her routine, so she'd get comfortable around him and let her guard down. That meant going to his least favorite place in the castle. Madame Pince always watched him the entire time he was in the library, the five times he'd been there during his seven previous years at Hogwarts. But it was necessary, so Marcus forced himself not to miss the game of exploding snap he was missing in the Slytherin common room, and sat down at the table opposite Bell's. He opened his DADA textbook, watching Bell out of the corner of his eye. She had a roll of parchment and three books spread open on the table, leaning over them and muttering to herself. Marcus turned a page, still watching Bell. He quickly grew bored. There was nothing interesting about watching anyone, even an attractive girl, study. He ended up reading two chapters, until Bell finally left the library. He spent two evenings a week in the library for three weeks. A nice side benefit of all this time studying was scoring full marks on an exam for the first time in his life.

He needed to move on the next stage of his plan, and the gods must have agreed with him. On Tuesday of the fourth week, the library was full and the only empty seat was at Bell's table. He sat down without saying a word, and opened his book.

"What are you going here?" Bell asked, staring at him suspiciously.

"This was the only available seat," Marcus replied coolly. "Or should I leave rather than taint your area? Do you want me to fail another year?"

She blushed, "Sorry, Flint, I didn't think."

Normally, he'd have replied "You Gryffindors never do." But he was trying to seduce her, and he didn't think insulting her and her house was the best approach, so instead he said, "Apology accepted." He lowered his gaze to the pages of the book, waiting for her to speak. He didn't have to wait long.

"You know, the first time I saw you in here, I thought you were planning something that would make Pince chase you out, throwing books at you."

"Sorry to disappoint you," he replied dryly, still looking down at his book.

"So, what do you think of the new Dark Arts teacher?"

"Well, it would be better if he was a Dark Arts teacher rather than a Defense Against the Dark Arts one, but he seems decent." Marcus finally looked at Bell, who was watching him intently. "He's better than Lockhart. Speaking of Lockhart, you witches must miss him."

"Not really. Hearing he'd taken credit for other witches and wizards's work pretty much killed his appeal."

"Why do you come here rather than do your homework in the Gryffindor common room?" he asked, mainly to make conversation.

"The twins are...distracting, and I need every ounce of concentration I can muster to do Snape's homework."

He nodded in understanding and didn't say anything. She didn't say anything else either. They studied for an hour in silence, though she did wish him a good night when she left. Marcus felt he was making good progress.

Two days later, there were seats available at other tables, but Marcus sat at Bell's table anyway. She didn't say anything except "hello." Marcus returned her greeting and busied himself with his Muggle Studies textbook. Some time later, she yawned and stretched, and asked him why he took Muggle Studies if he hated muggles.

"It's an easy class," he said. "And anyway, I don't hate them, exactly. I just think they have their world and we have ours, and we should leave it that way."

"Do you remember the section on muggle sports? What'd you think?"

"A few of them, like rubgy or that game that's only played in America, sounded interesting."

"Sounds like you and the others on your Quidditch team would be perfect for that game." She smiled at him when she said it.

He smiled back at her, "Can't argue there. Nothing could compare to Quidditch, though." She nodded in agreement and turned her attention back to her homework. Marcus resumed reading about muggle wars.

The next week, he spoke first, asking her what she'd thought of the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. She complained about the way Malfoy'd elbowed Chang out of the way to grab the snitch, and the way Derrick and Bole'd sent multiple bludgers at Davies's face. She accused of him and his teammates of cheating to make up for lack of skill. He retorted that her team only won because of Potter, pointing out that they'd lost when they played without him or when he fainted during matches. They argued heatedly, voices growing louder, until Madame Pince hurried over to hiss a reprimand at them. He did a silent imitation of Pince after she'd turned to leave. Bell bit her lip to stifle her laughter.

When he got back to the Slytherin common room, Bletchley stopped him as he headed to his dormitory. The keeper asked, "What are you doing with Bell?"

Marcus raised his one of his eye brows and folded his arms over his chest. "Since when do I answer to you, Miles?" he asked softly.

Bletchley shifted uncomfortably, "You know I didn't mean it like that, Marcus. I just want to know what the plan is."

"Just trying to mess with her head, throw the Gryffindors off their game." He paused, then asked sarcastically, "Does that meet with your approval?"

Bletchley gaped at him for a moment then grinned broadly. "That's fucking brilliant, Marcus! Do you want me and the others to help? I could take Spinnet and..."

"No," Marcus interrupted him. "Merlin, think for once. The Gryffindors would know something was up if all of them were suddenly besieged by flowers and candy from us. You stay away from the rest of them."

"Flowers and candy?" Bletchley's grin widened.

"Figure of speech," Marcus muttered. He'd need to get Bell something for Valetine's, though, but that was months away. Bletchley wished him a good night and walked away still grinning. Marcus knew the story he'd tell the other fifth year boys would bear little resembalance to the conversation they'd just had.

Thursday, Bell greeted him with a smile and asked him about his Christmas plans. They spent more time talking that evening than studying. When she rose to leave, because Pince was occupied in the restricted section, and because it felt right, he kissed her. One hand was on her shoulder and the other was cupping her face, and Marcus wished the table between them would disappear so he could feel her body pressed against his. He expected her to push him away and slap him, but she didn't. She opened her mouth and allowed him to slip his tongue inside. He was the one who ended the kiss, remembering that the other students were probably watching them. He looked around the library, relieved that the few students left were first and second years. No one would believe them if they went about claiming to have seen the Slytherin captain kiss a Gryffindor chaser. He turned his attention back to Katie. Her face was red, but she smiled at him when she said, "Good night, Marcus, and Merry Christmas."

"You too, Katie," he replied. He watched her leave before slumming into his chair, and burying his head in his hands. It had occurred to him for the first time that remaining emotionally detached while he implemented his plan might be more difficult than he'd anticipated.

To be continued...


	2. Interlude

"Game Plan"

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling.

Oliver was waiting in an armchair near the fire when Katie returned to the Gryffindor common room. She sat in Oliver's lap, snuggling close. "He kissed me tonight," she announced quietly.

"I've got to give him credit, when he decides on a plan, he executes it properly. I always thought Flint's idea of seduction was to pin the unfortunate person to the wall and have his way with them," Oliver said.

Kaite laughed, and pushed away the mental image Oliver's words had created. Such thoughts could wait until she was alone in her bed. She had to give her captain her report. "He still thinks he's in control. He hasn't realized I've been luring him on."

"He's too arrogant to consider that we've known what he was up to all along."

Katie snorted, "As if Marcus Flint in the library nearly every night wasn't suspicious."

Oliver laughed. "When you first told me, I thought he was trying to cast some curse on you. Who'd have believed he was trying to seduce one of my players? He must really think highly of himself."

"Typical Slytherin," Katie said.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Katie?" Oliver asked, wondering whether this was one of those times when he was more focused on Quidditch than on people.

"Absolutely, Ollie, don't worry about it," she replied, ruffling his hair. "I can't wait to see the look on Flint's face when he realizes we've turned the tables on him." She grinned at him, "Besides, you'd do the same."

"Only for the sake of the team," Oliver protested. "No, really, Flint's hardly my kind of man."

"Yeah, you'd think of Quidditch while you ran your tongue all over those big muscles of Flint's," Katie teased him.

Oliver covered his ears, "My virgin ears don't need to hear what you're planning to do to Flint."

"Don't worry, Oliver," Katie said seriously, "I won't let it get that far."

Oliver kissed her forehead. "Be careful, Katie."

"I will, I won't forget it's Marcus Flint I'm dealing with." She smiled, "Though it'll be fun to watch him jump through a couple of hoops." She kissed his cheek. "See you in January."

**END INTERLUDE**


	3. Romantic Advice and the Astronomy Tower

"Game Plan"

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews. I finished the next few chapters awhile ago but I was too nervous to post them. Things move very fast, maybe too fast. My justification is the fact that the fic is told primarily from Marcus's point of view; and he's not going to spend much time reminiscing about every smile in the hallway.

Marcus told himself that the only reason he'd thought of Katie all Christmas break was for strategic purposes. That she appeared in all his fantasies meant nothing. After all, he'd fantasized about Madam Hooch a couple of times when he was younger and that hardly meant he was in love with her. No, Katie was hot and he was simply behaving as any healthy eighteen year male would. Marcus nodded to himself and left his dormitory to seek out the thinking members of his team. Bole and Derrick were in his year, but both of them were nearly as stupid as Malfoy's two friends. He headed to the fifth year boys' dormitory, considering whether he should ask Malfoy for advice. The kid was pretty smart, but no. Marcus Flint did not ask thirteen year olds for romantic advice. Besides, Malfoy had problems keeping his mouth shut.

He barged into the room without knocking, startling a boy who wasn't on his team into dropping a book. "Leave," Marcus ordered. The boy left and Marcus turned his attention to his teammates. Warrington was writing something, Montague was staring up at the ceiling, and Pucey and Bletchley were sitting on one of the beds looking at photos in a magazine.

"You've got to see this," Bletchley said, waving him over. "I didn't know witches could do that with a..."

"Tell me how to get Bell," Marcus interrupted.

"I thought you said everything was going perfectly before Christmas," Warrington said without looking up from the parchment in his lap.

"It was but - we just got back to school yesterday, who the hell are you writing to?" Marcus demanded, stalking towards Warrington to look at the parchment.

"My pen pal in Australia." Warrington rolled up the letter and shoved it under his pillow before Marcus could read it.

"God, Marcus, did you come storming in here to interrogate us on our letter writing habits?" Pucey asked.

"Watch it, Adrian, or I'll throw you off the reserves too. That girl in Draco's year, Bulstrode, would love your spot on the team."

Pucey looked bored. "Really," he drawled, "You tossed me for Warrington because he's a couple of inches taller and maybe twenty pounds heavier, yet you're now threatening to replace me with a girl half my size?" He shook his head. "There's this thing called logic..."

"How can we help you, Marcus?" Montague asked, sitting up and glaring at Pucey to silence him.

"Stage one is over," Marcus said. "And quite successfully. I kissed Bell before Christmas and she kissed me back. I take it she's falling for me." He lowered his voice, "I don't know what to do now."

"Do what you do with those girls you're always with in the broomshed," Bletchley said idly, still flipping through the magazine.

Marcus strode over to him and ripped the magazine away. He glanced down at the photo of a witch and her broomstick for a second before closing the mazagine and throwing it across the room. "So, Miles, you're suggesting I pull Bell into a dark corner, tell her she's a sexy little thing, and ask if she'd like to ride my broomstick? Yeah, that wouldn't cause her to beat me senseless with her broom."

Bletchley looked impressed. "It's that easy for you?" he asked.

Marcus shook his head. He was not going to admit to Bletchley that his approach to girls earned him as many slaps as it did sexual favors. "I'm asking you what do you do when you want a girl to like you?"

"Well, I try to get her somewhere private and then I tell her that I've never felt this way about a girl before," Bletchley said. "Drusilla Mulciber just about _melted_ when I told her that."

"You have to look like you mean it." Montague added, "No offense, Marcus, but you tend to look like you're about to devour small children."

Marcus bared his teeth. "Witches like the way I look at them. They've told me so."

"Yes, but Bell isn't just any witch, remember? She's a Gryffindor. Her response to a wicked wolf isn't to shag him, it's to kill him." Montague was smiling as if he was remembering something. Marcus looked at him suspiciously.

"Blaise Zabini!" Pucey exclaimed. Marcus stared at him, wondering if he'd lost his mind. Pucey ran out of the room only to return a minute later with a third year. He pushed the boy into the room. "Show Marcus that expression of yours that makes the girls sigh."

Marcus scowled, it looked like he was going to be getting romantic advice from a thirteen year old after all. Zabini looked like he was both having trouble breathing and about to cry. Marcus blinked and looked at Pucey. "What the fuck?"

"Blaise has this expression that all the girls love," Pucey said. "Even Sixth Years say they wish he was older."

"You have to practice it," Zabini said, taking hold of Marcus's wrist. Marcus allowed the kid to lead him over to a mirror. Marcus tried to copy the expression Zabini'd worn a few moments ago. He gritted his teeth as he heard Bletchley and Montague snickering.

"No, no, no," Zabini said. "Like this." Marcus sighed and tried again.

By the next day, Marcus thought he'd gotten the look down. Marcus pulled Katie into an alcove during midmorning break. "I've thought about you all Christmas break," he whispered. He wondered if the line was too much, too sentimental to be believable from him. Katie didn't seem to think so though.

"I've been thinking about you too, Marcus," she murmured, resting her head against his chest.

"Your teammates would kill me if they saw us like this," he said, as he tightened his arms around her. "Kill" was an understatement; beat to a bloody pulp then hex until his mother wouldn't recognize him was a more apt description of what would happen to him if Wood and the Weasleys saw them now.

"What about your fellow Slytherins?" she asked. She felt so good. Marcus sternly reminded his body that this was more work than pleasure. He had to concentrate, he couldn't scare her away.

"They'd think I was just trying to score with a hot Gryffindor." He tilted her chin so he could stare into her eyes. "But Katie, I've never felt this way about any girl before." If she laughed, he was going to go find Bletchley and turn him into a toad. He felt like an idiot, but the stupid look worked for Zabini, didn't it? Though Marcus didn't have Zabini's darkly angelic good looks. Damn, he should have thought about that sooner.

Katie bit her lip and stared up at him. "I want to believe you, Marcus, but you are a Slytherin. It's hard for me not to believe that this isn't a joke to you, that you won't tell your friends you've made Katie Bell fall in love with you. I can picture everyone pointing at me in the hallways and laughing."

"Katie, I'd never do that." Like anyone in this school would believe a Gryffindor chaser had fallen for him.

"I have to go, my friends are probably looking for me," she said. He released her and watched her walk away.

Marcus went to the library fifteen minutes before his usual time on Thursday. He was worried he'd pushed Katie too much and she wouldn't be there today. He set his Charms textbook down on the table and opened it, then turned to stare at the entrance to the library. He tapped his fingers on the desk, waiting impatiently for Katie. The Hufflepuff prefect sitting at the next the table glared at him. Marcus glared back and tapped his fingers louder, daring the Hufflepuff to reprimand him. The Hufflepuff got up with a loud sigh and moved to a table on the other side of the room. Marcus smirked, confident in his superiority over mere Hufflepuffs. His smirk slipped and he frowned as seven o'clock came and Katie didn't show up. She was exactly one minute and thirty-seven seconds late. He stood and forced a smile onto his face as she made her way to his table. "Katie."

"Marcus," she greeted him smiling. She set her books down and began twirling a lock of her hair. She sat next to him, rather than across from him like she usually did. Suddenly he didn't have to work to keep the smile on his face, it widened on its own.

"I've missed you," Marcus said. He moved his chair a little closer to hers.

"You've been staring at me during meals. Luckily, everyone just thinks you're glaring at Oliver as usual."

"Can't imagine why anyone would think I'd want to look at Oliver while I ate, but that's all the better for us, right?"

"Right," she said, looking at him for a few seconds more before turning her attention to her homework. Marcus started reading his own book, though he kept looking at Katie. Really, by this point, he'd hoped to be snogging her, not having to pretend to study any longer. Seducing a Gryffindor was hard work. At least his parents had been happy with the improvement in his schoolwork because of it.

"Katie." He covered one of her hands with his as she started putting books back into her bag. "Do you want to go for a walk around the lake?"

She smiled. "What, going walking outside the castle at night while there's an escaped murderer lurking in the area?" she asked teasingly.

Marcus hadn't thought of that. Still, he wasn't about to give up that easily. "It's silly. Why would Sirius Black hang about a school? I mean, if I'd been in prison for twelve years, I'd go to Knockturn Alley and pick up a cheap witch." He touched the collar of her robe, "Unless he has a thing for schoolgirls, that is."

She didn't brush his hand away. "I think killing Harry is a little more important than consorting with cheap witches."

"Come on, there are Dementors all over the place. We're perfectly safe." He stroked the soft skin of her neck.

"We could go to the Astronomy Tower instead. There won't be any classes up there until midnight," she said, her voice shaky.

He'd been counting on the moonlight reflecting off the lake to provide a romantic setting, but stars would do just as well. "That's perfect. You're perfect." He leaned in to kiss her.

She held up her hand, "Marcus, the library's full of people! We don't want gossip, do we. I'll meet you up there in twenty minutes."

Marcus dashed down to the dungeons, put away his books, and sprinted up to the Astronomy Tower with seven minutes to spare. He knew because he checked his watch. He was fairly certain Katie wouldn't actually have sex with him tonight, but he'd try his best anyway. He looked up at the stars and tried to remember which one was the star children wished upon.

"How'd you get all the way up here from the dungeons before me?" Katie's amused voice came from behind him.

He turned around and pulled her into his arms. "I was very, very eager to see you."

"See me, huh?" She laughed. "That's why we're standing in the dark."

He nuzzled her neck. "There's plenty of light from the stars."

"Which you can see so clearly right now, right?"

He licked the skin over her racing pulse before replying. "Yeah, and what a view tonight." He kissed her before she could reply. He wasn't going to waste their time up here trading banter. He'd expected her to be a little hesitant, so he was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and aggressively returned his kisses. She was the one who first slipped her tongue into his mouth. Marcus thought this meant she wouldn't mind his hand slipping under her shirt. He was wrong. Katie broke the kiss and pulled away from him.

"Don't do that, Marcus," she said, licking her lips before continuing. "I like you and I want to be with you, but I'm not ready for that. Okay?"

She was looking at him like it was some kind of test, so Marcus said the only thing he could say. "Okay." He reached for her and she melted back into his arms.

Author's Note: The Blaise Zabini thing was an in-joke to myself. It amuses me that he's always portrayed as the slut of Hogwarts when we didn't even know his gender until recently.


	4. Valentine's Day

"Game Plan"

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K Rowling.

It was over a month since Marcus and Katie had started meeting in the Astronomy Tower after their study dates. It was wonderful and exciting, and utterly frustrating. For the first time in nearly two years, Marcus had to spend all their private time together just kissing a girl. That was all Katie would do or let him do. If Marcus was the introspective type, he might have wondered why he didn't seek relief from the girls he'd had casual arrangements with before.

But he wasn't the introspective type, so when he encountered Lucretia Rosier as he was heading back to the dungeons after one such meeting with Katie, he curtly told her "Not anymore" and put her out of his mind. Instead of going to his own dormitory, he went to the fifth year boys' room.

"Valentine's is next week," he announced.

Warrington gave him a confused and wary look. "I know."

"Flowers and candy!" Bletchley positively screeched with delight.

"Geez, Miles, you sound like a girl," Montague said with disgust.

Bletchley made an obscene gesture in Montague's direction. "Not for me, you idiot. For Bell. Marcus has to get her flowers and chocolate or something."

Pucey tore down the curtains around his bed in his eagerness to stare at Marcus and snicker. He jumped out of bed and pointed at Marcus with glee. "I have to see this. Marcus, have you ever bought a girl anything for Valentine's Day before?"

Marcus glared at him. "No," he admitted. He felt his face burn with anger and embarrassment as all four of them laughed.

"So, you've never had a real girlfriend before?" Warrington asked.

"No." He used to be proud of the fact that he could get girls into bed without having to exert much time and effort on them. Now he realized he might be socially underdeveloped in some ways, a victim of his own success.

Montague got his laughter under control and put a hand on Marcus's shoulder. "Don't worry, Captain," he said. "We'll help you." Marcus wondered if Montague was trying to suck up to him in effort get the Quidditch team captaincy when he left Hogwarts. He needn't have bothered; Pucey was off the team, Warrington was too new, and Bletchley was too annoying. He would be the next Slytherin captain by default, but Marcus wasn't about to tell him that now.

The five of them went to Honeydukes that weekend. Marcus felt certain everyone in the store was watching him, so he plastered his nastiest sneer on his face. That, and the fact that the five Slytherins were individually well built and collectively formed a solid wall, got the other customers out of their way. Bletchley and Pucey were laughing too hard to be of much help, so the task of choosing Katie a gift fell to Montague and Warrington.

"A heart shaped box of chocolates is the classic gift. She'll share it with her friends and giggle about how much she likes you," Montague said. The others gave him strange looks. "I have sisters," he said defensively.

"I don't want her talking about me to her friends just yet. Remember the plan," Marcus said. Yet he hadn't remembered the plan himself until the words came out of his mouth. He felt a strange jolt at this realization. Katie was just more fun than he'd expected, that was all. He was _not_ falling in love with her.

"You could get her a block of chocolate. They'll carve names and stuff into it if you want," Warrington said. "Something like 'To my beloved' or whatever you want."

Marcus couldn't choose so he bought both of them. He quickly handed the bag to Bletchley. Marcus Flint would not be seen carrying bright red chocolate boxes. As they walked back to Hogwarts, Pucey and Warrington began to argue over whether Marcus should send Katie a singing card or a singing dwarf. Marcus resisted the urge to seize them and smash their heads together. He settled for saying, "A singing anything will attract too much attention. How's she supposed to explain who it's from? You know how Gryffindors are. Wood and the Weasleys will want to know who it's from so they can make sure the sender is worthy or her or some crap like that."

"Oh," Warrington said. "Sorry, Marcus, I didn't think about that."

Marcus grunted as a means of accepting the apology. Besides, he knew from receiving his fair share of singing dwarves to not inflict that embarrassment on the girl he was supposed to love. When Bletchley returned his Honeydukes bag back in the Slytherin common room, he also handed Marcus a card. "What am I used to do with this?" Marcus grumbled.

Bletchley looked at him like he was an idiot. "You write something sappy and send it her," he explained patiently.

Marcus snatched the card from Bletchley and headed to his own dormitory. He ignored Bole's attempt at conversation and pulled his bedcurtains shut. A quick "Lumos" provided enough light for him to write something in the card. _Dear Katie_...no. He waved his wand and the words disappeared. _I've never felt this way about anyone_. No, it was the truth but he'd used that line already. He waved his wand again. _Katie, I love you._ There, that was simple and perfect. He wanted to sign his name, but he couldn't risk one of her friends seeing it.

Wednesday, he watched the Gryffindor table at breakfast as hundreds of owls flew through the Great Hall delivering Valentine gifts and greetings. Marcus frowned as one of the Weasleys ate a piece of Katie's chocolate. Her friends were all laughing and Katie was blushing. He imagined they were teasing her about her secret admirer. Then she read the card and looked at him. Their eyes met. She wasn't smiling, she looked stunned. Spinnet followed her line of sight and frowned when she saw Marcus. Katie elbowed Spinnet and they both looked away from him. He ignored the owls delivering cards and flowers to him; he always received stuff from the younger girls in Slytherin who had crushes on him because he was the Slytherin Quidditch captain. Beside him, Bletchley was busy going through the things he'd been sent.

"What are you doing?" Marcus demanded. He didn't care about the crap, but that didn't mean anyone could just start going through his mail.

"Looking for whatever Bell sent you," Bletchley didn't look up as he answered. "If she's as in love with you as you say, she'll have given you something." Marcus hadn't thought about that. Too bad, too late. Bletchley exclaimed "Yes!" and waved a plain pink and white card around. "You're getting lucky tonight, Marcus."

Marcus clapped Bletchley on the back in what could be mistaken as a friendly gesture and took the card. He ignored Bletchley's wince and looked at the card. He ignored the pre-printed lines and focused on Katie's writing. He forgot to breathe as he read it. _Marcus, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could get you for Valentine's Day. There's only one thing that you'll care about that could show you how much I love you. I'll meet you in your office in the Slytherin locker room tonight at eight. Love, Katie._ Surely she wasn't referring to what he was thinking about. He ordered himself not to get his hopes up, but it was an order he couldn't obey. The possibility that he might finally have sex with Katie tonight was too exciting.

At lunch and dinner, Marcus sat with his back to the Gryffindor table so he wouldn't be tempted to stare at Katie. Bletchley had told the others about Katie's note and they all sat around him, grinning. "Look," Marcus growled. "If I see any of you near the locker room tonight, I will do things to you that Madam Pomfrey doesn't know how to heal." He stared at each of them, one by one. "Got it?" They all mumbled yes and went back to teasing him.

"Eat up, Marcus, you'll need lots of energy for tonight. Those Gryffindor chasers are a handful," Montague said.

"You'll tell us about it, won't you, Marcus?" Pucey asked him, grinning.

Marcus had to get up and move to the other end of the table to avoid committing four murders right in front of Dumbledore. After dinner, he hurried back to the Slytherin dungeons and took a long, hot shower. He put on a clean set of his school uniform so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself by either under-dressing or over-dressing. Then he went down to the Slytherin locker room. He made sure it, and particularly his small office, was as clean as it could possibly get. He wished he had a glass of firewhiskey as he waited for Katie. The last time he'd been this nervous was his first Quidditch game as team captain. Katie was five minutes early; he'd been checking his watch.

"Hi," she said shly. She was wearing a short, clingy blue dress. The cloak she'd worn over her dress to leave Gryffindor Tower was drapped over one arm. "Happy Valentine's Day, Marcus."

Marcus forced himself to pick up the bouquet of red roses instead of pouncing on her. He handed her the bouquet. "I had these delivered to myself so I could give them to you." He gestured to the three other bunches of flowers on his desk, "Those were sent to me and I thought you might want them rather than me throwing them out."

"Thank you." She sniffed the roses and started tearing up. Marcus eyed her nervously. He never knew what to do when girls started crying. Usually he just left the room but that was out of the question now. So he took the flowers from her, set them down on the desk, and held her. "I love you, Marcus." She started sobbing. This was not how Marcus had pictured his evening.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "I love you too, Katie." He dug through his pockets for a handkerchief and gave it to her when her sobs finally died down. Really, if he loved her and she loved him, there was no problem. Why was she crying? He wanted to ask her but he didn't want to risk provoking her into crying again.

"I'm sorry I ruined the mood," she said, "I wanted tonight to be special."

"It is," he said. "You're here with me." Oh God, he meant it. He'd panic later, when Katie wasn't in his arms.

She bit her lip and stared at him. For a moment he thought she was about to cry again. Then she kissed him. He ended up sweeping the flowers to the floor and putting Katie to sit on his desk. Her legs were wrapped around him and he was pressed against her. He had to stop while he could still, barely, think. "Do you want me, Katie?" His breath was ragged. She pushed him away and he felt disappointment for a moment.

Until Katie pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the floor. She was just standing there in a pair of black lace underwear. "Yes, I want you, Marcus," she said.

Marcus had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths to control himself. Slowly and gently, he reminded himself, because she was Katie and she was a virgin. He found a deeper well of self-control he never knew he had and went to Katie.


	5. Interlude Two

"Game Plan"

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Katie walked into the Gryffindor fifth year girls' dormitory smiling. The lights were on and her two best friends were sitting up in their beds. At her arrival, they stood and stormed over to her. Each grasping one of her arms, they dragged her into the bathroom. Angelina locked the door and cast a silencing spell to prevent anyone from overhearing them.

"Where you you been?" Alicia demanded, crossing her arm under her chest and glaring at Katie. Katie thought she bore an incredible resembalance to her mother at that moment.

"You've been with Flint," Angelina stated. "What were you doing? By Godric Gryffindor, don't tell me you're smiling like that for the reason I suspect."

"Oh, and what reason would that be?" Katie asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb, Katie," Angelina said. "Please tell me you did not just have sex with Marcus freaking Flint."

Katie was starting to become annoyed. "So what if I did? It's my business."

"We're worried about you," Alicia said. "You know Flint doesn't really love you, or even like you. Why would you sleep with him? Why?"

"Maybe I thought he'd be a good lay," Katie retorted.

Angelina glared at her reprovingly then sighed. "Katie, we don't want to see you hurt."

It was hard to stay angry at them when they both looked like they were about to cry on her behalf. "You know how I feel about Oliver. It's so frustrating to be his friend and be in love with him, knowing that he's gay and we'll never be more than friends." Katie sighed then continued, "Marcus is like him in so many ways and he's giving me the kind of attention I want, even if it's for his own nefarious reasons. It's so easy to lose myself in the game we're playing. It's so easy to let myself believe that he loves me."

"You really enjoy the time you spend with Flint, don't you?" Angelina asked.

Katie nodded. "I know he's up to something. I know that. But you two don't see the way he behaves when it's just him and me. It's hard not to like him then. He makes it easy to pretend I love him."

"All right, you want to have some fun. I can understand that," Angelina said. "But I still don't understand why you'd want to lose your virginity to Marcus Flint." She shuddered as if the mere thought repulsed her.

The insult to Marcus and the implied insult to her own taste and judgment irritated Katie. "From what you said when you lost your virginity," she said coolly, "I had a much better time with Marcus than is usual. Besides, Fred isn't exactly Gilderoy Lockhart himself either."

"So, it was good?" Alicia asked, ignoring Angelina's glare.

"Very," Katie replied.

Angelina's anger fought with her curiousity and curiousity won. "You have to give us details."

"Well," Katie began, "You wouldn't believe..."


	6. Game Over

"Game Plan" by Redcandle17

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K Rowling.

Marcus couldn't wait for the Slytherin practice session to end, both because his teammates were performing inadequately and because he'd be able to see Katie when it was over. His duty as Quidditch Captain, however, had to come first. "We are not leaving this pitch until you sons of bitches stop playing like fucking Hufflepuffs!" Marcus shouted, as the rest of the team landed and formed a circle around him.

"It's dark and we've been out here for two hours already," Bole complained.

Marcus contemplated taking the beater's bat away and whacking him in the head with it. He settled for snarling at him. "And we're going to stay here all damn night until you start playing like you want to win. That Quidditch-obsessed lunatic, Wood, will have his team practicing twenty four seven. And we ARE going to beat the Gryffindors, aren't we." He glared at each of them and they all quickly nodded.

"The game's two weeks away," Derrick said. "Why do we have to train this hard now?"

"Because I say so," Marcus snapped, losing his patience. "Bletchley, you let Spinnet get those penalty shots pass you ninety percent of the time. I don't know whether it's because you're too busy trying to see her tits through her robes or what, and I don't care. You'd better not let it happen in this year's game. Pucey is going to mimick Spinnet's style for the next half an hour and you'd better not let a single quaffle by."

Bletchley opened his mouth - maybe to point out that if the chasers and beaters didn't commit so many fouls then the Gryffindors wouldn't get any penalty shots for him to worry about - then wisely closed it without saying a word. He nodded at Marcus.

Marcus turned his attention to Derrick and Bole. "Keep those fucking bludgers away from me and the other chasers. If I get hit, I'm going to hit you, understand?"

"Yes, Marcus," the two beaters said in unison.

"Malfoy," Marcus said, turning to face the small, blonde seeker. "Get...the...snitch...before...Potter. Unless you enjoy losing to him."

Malfoy shook his head. "I'll get it this time," he said with determination.

"Teamwork," Marcus barked at Montague and Warrington. "Stop hogging the quaffle. If another chaser is in a better spot to score, give him the quaffle." Neither of the other two chasers pointed out that if anyone, it was Marcus who was the quaffle hog.

The rest of the training session went more smoothly and Marcus ended it after twenty minutes. As the team showered in their locker room, Montague turned to Marcus and asked, "So the plan with Bell, what is it exactly? How are you going to use your relationship with her against the Gryffindors?"

Marcus froze. The last few months with Katie had been the best time of his life. He'd forgotten all about his plan, except to assure himself occasionally that he had a plan. He tried to remember what the hell he'd been thinking when he began this entire thing. "Right before the game, I taunt the Gryffindors about it. They'll be shocked and appalled. They'll be too shaken to play their best. It's quite simple." The very idea made him feel nauseous now.

Warrington chuckled. "Simple but effective. I can just imagine the look on their faces. Maybe those hot-headed twins will attack you; we can get some penalty shots off them as soon as the game starts."

Marcus nodded and forced himself to laugh along with his teammates. What the hell was he going to do? He considered his options as he made his way to the sixth floor corridor that led nowhere. He could stick to his plan and have Katie hate him. He could do nothing and have his team think he'd gotten weak. Those were the only options he could see.

"Tough practice, love?" Katie asked as he reached her.

"Very." He forced all thoughts about the plan aside. "I have lots of sore spots you can kiss and make better."

"I'll try my best," she said before they kissed.

It wasn't staying away. Damn Montague for making him think about this tonight. He hadn't been able to be alone with Katie for four days, and he'd been eagerly anticipating just holding her up against the wall and pounding into her. He was leaving Hogwarts - finally - in two months. He could just delay the situation somehow. No, he couldn't. And what was going to happen with him and Katie when he left Hogwarts?

Katie'd been kissing his neck and unbuttoning his shirt, and now she stopped. "What's wrong, Marcus? You're so tense."

"Nothing. Let's go for a walk." He took hold of one of her hands and started walking down the hallway.

"Walk? Where? But I thought you wanted..."

"Is that all you think I want from you?" Marcus asked. He stopped and stared at Katie. "Do you think I only want you for sex? Do you even believe that I love you?"

"Of course I believe you love me. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love you."

"Why do you love me?" As he asked it, he realized the question had been bothering him for a while. All he gave her were sappy lines he'd borrowed from Bletchley and damn good but quick sex in dark corners of the school. They couldn't even be seen talking civilly to each other outside of the library and even then they'd had to come up with the excuse that Marcus was helping Katie with her DADA homework. Why did she, a Gryffindor girl and his Quidditch rival, love him? If he didn't love her, he would have laughed at her. It made no sense.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest. "You're my favorite snuggly troll," she said.

He laughed despite his troubling thoughts. "I'm serious, Katie."

"You treat me like I'm special...and you love me like I want to be loved."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I know you've never made the effort to be with other girls that you made with me. And...you're not going to like the next part," she warned.

He kissed her forehead. "Just say it."

"I accepted that Oliver could never love me the way I loved him. He and I can only ever be friends, never lovers."

"You're saying I'm Wood's sexual substitute?" It hurt. Funny, he hadn't wanted her to think that he only wanted sex from her, yet it never ocurred to him that maybe she only wanted sex from him. Though wasn't that why he'd decided to seduce her in particular? Because he'd thought she'd accept him if she didn't have Wood? Turned out that he was right.

"Marcus, it's not like that." She shook her head angrily. "If I only wanted sex, there are hundreds of other boys at this school, most of whom are not in Slytherin and not on the Slytherin Quidditch team. You think I'd set myself up for this much trouble just for sex?"

He didn't say anything, just held her tighter.

"I like having sex with you, yes. But I like being in your arms like this just as much. I like just sitting next to you in the library while I do my homework. I like that little smile you give me when we pass each other in the hallways between classes. I love you."

Sex and a smile and his company added up to love? It didn't seem right accurate. But then, he couldn't explain why he loved her either. It just was.

Katie sighed. "I'm sorry, Marcus," she said. "I shouldn't have said that. No one wants to hear that they're being used to replace someone else. I should have remembered that. But you make me forget things I should remember. I used to think that Oliver was the love of my life, but I know that that was just a silly crush. I love _you_."

He kissed her then, and she eagerly responded. She seemed desperate to prove something, either to herself or to him. Her kisses were rougher than usual and her fingernails were digging painfully into the back of his neck. He liked it, but it wasn't like her. He broke the kiss. "What's wrong, Katie?"

"Nothing." She rapidly unbuttoned his shirt.

"I know you by now, sweetheart." He stopped her as she tried to unzip his pants. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"You really want to know what's wrong?" She took a few steps back, away from him. "Then you tell me what's wrong."

"Huh?" The others had warned him about this. They'd told him that sometimes girls got mad over things guys never even noticed and that they never said why they were upset.

"Tell me why you're doing this." Katie hugged herself, like she was cold. Marcus took a few steps towards her, to hold her. She backed away.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked impatiently.

"I can't do this anymore. I told you the truth before, except for one thing. I lied when I said that I believe you love me. I'm not that stupid, Marcus, despite what you may think of me."

Marcus was truly confused and a pit of dread was building in his stomach. "I don't think you're stupid. And, of course, I love you."

Katie laughed bitterly. "Look, the game's only a couple of weeks away. You can stop pretending. Unless you're determined to squeeze the last bit of entertainment out of me that you can get."

Marcus suddenly realized what she was talking about. He could have sworn that the hallway had gotten much, much colder. "Stop saying that. I do love you," he said softly.

"God." She shook her head. "You really think I'm dumber than Bole, don't you? You think you could start stalking me in the library and I wouldn't notice it? You think I'd believe that you, Marcus Flint, was madly in love with me? Well, sorry to disappoint you, Marcus, but I'm not that stupid. I want to know why, though. What did you hope to use me for? Just to boost your team's morale by telling them you'd fucked me? Or did you have something more planned?"

"All right, all right. Maybe I was trying to play with your teammates' heads, trying to throw you Gryffindors off your game a little. But that was way back in October. I love you now."

"Please stop insulting my intelligence, Marcus. It's making me angrier than you trying to seduce me ever did. You're the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and you expect me to believe that you love me, Katie Bell, a Gryffindor, a Gryffindor chaser!" she yelled. Then she lowered her voice. " I did fall in love with you, you know. And I let myself pretend that you loved me too. But the match is two weeks away, and I know you're going to do whatever you had planned soon."

"I'm not planning anything," Marcus said dully. "You're never going to believe me, are you?"

"No, you're Marcus Flint," she said, as if his name explained it all.

"Then I'll see you on the pitch. Have a nice life, Bell."


	7. No More Games

"Game Plan" by Redcandle17

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

"Marcus, you do know that your shirt's open, right?" Malfoy called as Marcus stormed into the Slytherin common room. Well, that explained why he was so cold. Marcus ignored Malfoy and all the others as he made his way to his dormitory. He pulled the bedcurtains shut and laid on his back, staring into the darkness.

Katie kept insisting she loved him, the patronizing little Gryffindor bitch. But she could not believe that he loved her. She probably didn't believe he was capable of love or any other emotion. Right now, he wished he was as heartless she thought he was. How could she believe the last five months was all a charade? He could have one hell of a career in muggle theater if he was that good an actor. He'd thought of lots of things to say to her while they'd stood in that dark hallway. But he'd restrained himself because he knew she would take his justified anger as a sign that he was a heartless bastard. He'd restrained himself so much, and made himself do and say things he'd never imagined himself doing these past five months for her. He laughed bitterly. Marcus Flint had made a fool of himself for a girl, for a Gryffindor girl. It was pathetic. He must have been out of his mind. Yes, it must have been some sort of temporary insanity. He should thank Bell for ending it.

Marcus waited for Katie to walk by on her way to her first class of the morning. He yanked her into the alcove without caring who saw them. "Are you over whatever madness clouded your brain last night?" he demanded.

Katie snatched her arm away from him. "It's over, Marcus," she said tiredly. Her eyes were red and puffy. "I don't know what you're planning to do to me and the rest of the team, but get it over with soon. The waiting is killing me."

"I'm not planning to do anything to you," Marcus said. "I don't know where you got that paranoid idea." He made sure to enunciate each word slowly and carefully, "I love you."

"You," she pointed at him, "are Marcus Flint. You are a Slytherin. You are the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team." She pointed at herself, "I am Katie Bell. I am a Gryffindor. I am a Gryffindor Quidditch player. You can't possibly be in love with me."

Marcus felt like banging his head against the wall. "I know who I am and I know who you are. Stop talking to me like I'm stupid. You have to know that I love you. What the hell do you think I've be doing these last five months?"

"Playing with me," Katie replied. "You've been planning some psychological tactic to throw us off our game. Maybe you enjoyed it, but I know why you did it." She folded her arms under her chest. "Points for persistence, by the way," she added. "I expected you to give up once you knew I knew."

Part of him was proud of her for being aware and downright suspicious. It was very Slytherin of her. Mostly he wanted to shake her until she stopped babbling about games. "Katie, please," he said. "You said the same thing last night. Let's not go over this again."

Katie opened her mouth to argue and Marcus kissed her. It was just last night that he'd last kissed her, but it felt like years. He could taste the bacon she'd eaten for breakfast; he hated bacon but he loved kissing her. She was kissing him back like it'd been years for her too. Marcus's hands were on her hips, about to pick her up and pin her to the wall when the bell rang. Like she'd snapped out of a spell, Katie placed both palms on Marcus's chest and shoved him away. Marcus stumbled and regained his balance before he fell. She was stronger than she looked.

"Now we're both late to class. Making me get detention isn't going to make me gullible enough to believe you, Marcus." She was breathing heavily and her face was flushed.

"Skip class and let's go somewhere private. I'll show you just how much I love you," Marcus suggested.

Katie's lips curved but she forced the smile away. She sighed. "Marcus, leave me alone. I have to warn you, Oliver and the twins will probably do something unpleasant to you if they see you harassing me like this." She walked away and Marcus didn't try to stop her.

"I know about you and Katie," Oliver Wood said quietly. Marcus looked at him in surprise. They usually ignored each other's existence in History of Magic, but today Wood had sat next to him.

"What are you babbling about?" Marcus asked, in case Wood didn't know what he implied he knew.

Wood chuckled humorlessly. "At least you're being discreet. So far it seems public humiliation isn't what you planned."

"I repeat, what are you talking about?" Professor Binns was droning on about Dumbledore's defeat of Grindelwald, and Marcus needed to take notes because that was one of the questions he'd missed on the N.E.W.T.s. Instead, he was restraining himself from strangling the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. It was Wood's fault. He must have said something to Katie to make her doubt Marcus's sincerity.

"I know, Flint. I know everything. Katie told me as soon as she noticed you watching her in the library every time she was there. I have to say I'm impressed. I expected you to assign Pucey or one of the others in her year if seducing one of my chasers was the game plan. I guess you won't ask your men to do anything you're not willing to do, huh? Still, I didn't expect you to be able to get Katie to want to play along. You must be less trollish when you're alone with girls."

Marcus had crushed his quill into a little ball while listening to Wood. He gripped the edge of the desk to prevent himself from inflicting bodily harm on Wood, who was continuing with his speech.

"Katie's stopped playing your game and you'd better leave her alone. I'm warning you, Flint: don't touch her," Wood said.

Marcus closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Opening his eyes, he glowered at Wood. "What goes on between me and my girlfriend is none of your business."

"What goes on between my chaser and the Slytherin captain certainly is my business," Wood retorted. "Katie doesn't love you or want you, Flint. Stay away from her."

Marcus relaxed. Wood didn't know as much as he thought he did after all. Wood didn't know that Katie loved Marcus. And Marcus was sure Katie loved him. He was confident she wasn't the type to have sex with someone, especially someone like him, for months unless she thought she was in love. "You had your chance," Marcus said. "Katie would have done anything for you. Don't blame me if you realized too late what you gave up."

Wood smiled at him nastily. "That's just it, Flint. Katie was willing to pretend she was in love with you because she knows how much I care about winning the Quidditch Cup. She was willing to do anything to counter whatever you were obviously planning."

Fuck. Marcus remembered last night's conversation with Katie and felt doubtful. She had admitted that she was with him originally because she couldn't be with Wood. Marcus ignored Wood for the rest of the class. How did things get so messed up in less than twenty four hours? He shouldn't have stopped and asked Katie what was bothering her last night. Hell, he shouldn't have asked her whether she believed he loved her. Marcus reached the conclusion that it was Montague's fault. Montague shouldn't have reminded him of his plan - his plan that seemed completely stupid and juvenile now.

Montague didn't seem to realize that Marcus was angry with him. He sat right next to Marcus at lunch. "I know how we can best utilize your relationship with Bell," he announced.

"It's none of your business," Marcus snapped.

Montague stared at him and frowned. "But I thought..."

Marcus interrupted him, "Don't think about it. It's my concern."

Across from them, Pucey was watching Marcus avidly. "You're not actually in _love_ with Bell?" he said.

Montague frowned at Pucey. "Don't be silly," he said in Marcus's defense.

"Breathed in funny fumes in Potions, Pucey?" Marcus forced himself to laugh. He turned to Montague, "What's your idea?"

Montague's plan was a good one. It was a plan worthy of a Slytherin. It was utterly ruthless to the point of cruelty. It would destroy Katie and the rest of her team by extension. It would humiliate all of Gryffindor House for at least a couple of weeks. If Marcus allowed Montague to implement his plan, there was no possibility of ever reuniting with Katie. If he did it, she would hate him.

"What would you do if you were...involved with Bell?" Marcus asked Montague.

"Or Johnson," said Pucey, smiling knowingly.

Montague glared at Pucey silently. Finally, he looked at Marcus and said, "I wouldn't do it, of course."

Pucey stopped grinning and leaned closer to Marcus. "Look, we all respect you, Marcus. We're not going to think you're weak if you don't do it."

Marcus stared at him. Pucey looked sincere enough, but Marcus knew that his housemates were even less trustworthy than people in general.

Pucey sighed. "Okay, how about this? We're all too afraid of you to mock you for being infatuated with a Gryffindor. If you ever hear me spreading rumors about you, feel free to throw me off the Astronomy Tower. Or push me off my broom during practice; I'll say it was an accident."

"I was planning to throw you off your broom next practice anyway," Marcus grumbled. "All right. Leave Bell alone. Mind your own business, all of you."

Author's Note: I know I said this would be the final chapter last time I updated, but it's made itself longer than I intended. I mean it this time though, one more chapter.


	8. The End of the Affair

"Game Plan" by Redcandle17

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Marcus didn't try to seek out Katie in the week and a half following the end of their relationship. She was so certain that he was going to do something bad to her, he figured it was best to wait until after the Slytherin-Gryffindor game to talk to her. Surely after she realized nothing had happened, she'd be more reasonable. This, however, did not mean that he intended to go easy on her during the game. He wanted to win and so did the rest of the Slytherin team.

They played like they wanted to win. Marcus deliberately collided with Angelina Johnson in an attempt to throw her from her broom. The rules of Quidditch forbade replacing players once a game had begun. If one of the Gryffindor players was injured during the game, they'd have to continue playing without him or her. Taking Johnson out of the game would leave two Gryffindor chasers against all three Slytherin chasers, giving the Slytherins an easy victory - snitch or no snitch. Unfortunately, the foul against Johnson backfired. Not only did she not fall, but Madam Hooch caught him doing it, and one of the Weasleys smashed his beater's bat into the back of Marcus's head in retaliation. His head slammed forward into his broom handle, breaking his nose. Marcus swore; there was nothing else he could do - stopping the game for a mere broken nose was out of the question.

A few minutes later, Montague grabbed Katie's head and tried to pull her off her broom. Katie dropped the quaffle as she struggled to stay on her broom. Marcus caught it without thinking, watching her and holding his breath. He didn't breathe again until Katie stopped spinning in the air and regained her balance. He spared an angry glance in Montague's direction before flying towards Wood and the Gryffindor goalposts with the quaffle.

The Gryffindors were winning, despite the best efforts of the Slytherins. That idiot Bole hit Spinnet with his bat while Hooch was hovering right near him, giving the Gryffindors another penalty shot - which Spinnet easily got pass Bletchley, like always. Marcus heard Jordan's commentary and the hush of the crowd that indicated the seekers were racing to the snitch. He ignored it, desperate to score at least one more goal before the game ended. Wood dived to deflect the quaffle just as "Harry's got it!" rang out.

The entire Slytherin team accompanied Marcus to the hospital wing. They were too dejected to speak, except for Malfoy. "I nearly had it!" he said. "Just one more inch. Potter literally stole it from my grasp. It's because of that Firebolt of his."

Marcus knew the kid was correct, but that didn't make him feel any better or make Malfoy any less annoying. He waved his hand inarticulately, hoping Malfoy would shut his mouth. His head hurt like hell and Malfoy's ranting was making it worse.

Finally, Montague seemed to understand Marcus's gestures and clamped his hand over Malfoy's mouth. "Draco," he said, "Marcus got hit in the head; your noise is probably hurting him." Thankfully, Malfoy remained silent after Montague removed his hand.

Madam Pomfrey had finished healing Marcus's nose and was prodding at the bump on the back of his head when Katie entered the room. Except for one resentful glare at Montague, she ignored the other Slytherins as she walked pass them towards Marcus.

Madam Pomfrey turned to look at Katie, still painfully poking Marcus's head. "Miss Bell. If your injuries are less serious than Mr. Flint's concussion, then please have a seat and I'll be with you shortly." Ha. He was surprised she didn't go to Katie immediately. After all, she'd been on the pitch to tend to Spinnet's head as soon as the game ended, but she'd made him come all the way to the infirmary. The tiny bit of fairness deep inside him reminded him that Pomfrey hadn't had the necessary potions with her to heal his nose on the pitch.

Katie blushed and looked at the floor as Madam Pomfrey finished with Marcus, whose head had finally stopped hurting, and turned her attention to her. "I'm okay," Katie said. "I'm only here to see Marcus."

Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows raised, but she only said, "Mr. Flint, remain here and rest for a few minutes." She headed to her office, looking over her shoulder at them curiously.

"Out," Marcus ordered his teammates. They obediently filed out of the room, though Malfoy was overheard demanding to know why a Gryffindor was visiting him. "Katie," Marcus said cautiously when they were alone. He wasn't sure whether she was still angry with him.

"I was worried about you." She sat next to him on the cot. "That was a nasty blow to the head, though I can't apologize for Fred after what you did to Angelina first."

"That's how we play," Marcus said. "No apologies."

"I guess not," Katie said. "But I owe you one for not believing you. I'm sorry I didn't trust you, Marcus."

Well, this was good. This was very good. If it had been anyone else and any other circumstance, he'd have accepted the undue apology without a second thought. Marcus groaned. Everything would be fine if he simply accepted the apology; Katie would be his again. Instead he said, "You don't owe me an apology, Katie. I did have less than honorable intentions when this all started. I wasn't even sure what I was going to do until two weeks ago. I owe you an apology for trying to use you like that."

Katie looked unsettled. "Apology accepted. I guess that's that." She rose to leave.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her back down next to him. "I still love you."

"I love you, too," she said, "But this isn't going to work."

Marcus kissed her. He pushed her down onto the cot and covered her body with his. She shoved at his shoulders for a few seconds before grabbing a handful of his hair and pulling him closer. "I've missed you so much," he whispered as he tried to tear open her red Quidditch robes.

"Missed you, too," she said, trying to remove his green robes.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" Madam Pomfrey screeched.

Marcus scrambled off of Katie and ended up on the floor, flat on his ass. He quickly got to his feet. Katie slid off the cot, her face bright red. Neither of them knew what to say to the irate nurse.

"Get out," Pomfrey said, "Out. Don't ever do that in here again or I'll send you both to the headmaster's office."

"Well, that was embarrassing," Katie said, as she and Marcus hurried away from the infirmary.

"I think I'd prefer to have been caught by Dumbledore. At least he has a sense of humor," Marcus said.

"Oh, Marcus! Fantasizing about Dumbledore watching you? I'm shocked!" Katie laughed.

Marcus laughed too. He put his arm around Katie's shoulder and held her close to him as they walked.

"What are we doing?" she asked quietly.

"We're looking for someplace private," Marcus said. "Unless you'd prefer to do it on the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. I imagine the rest of the school would appreciate the performance."

Katie didn't laugh. "No. What are we doing? You have less than two months left here and I have two more years of school. This isn't going to work."

Marcus stopped walking and grabbed both of Katie's shoulders. "You're not breaking up with me," he said. "We haven't even been back together for half an hour."

She tried to pull away, but he didn't let her.

"Marcus, we've got to face the facts," she said.

"We can meet every Hogsmeade weekend," he said.

"Once a month?" She laughed humorlessly. "Seeing me, touching me once a month will be enough for you? I don't believe that. I know that it won't be enough for me. It may last a few more months like that, but eventually both of us will lose interest."

"When did you get so cynical?" he asked softly.

She sighed. "I'm being realistic. When did you become a romantic?" She tried to smile, "What happened to my big, bad Slytherin?"

"Your Slytherin is completely in love with his Gryffindor."

"I'm going to miss my snuggly troll." She hugged him.

Marcus ignored the gaggle of first year Hufflepuffs who were staring at them. "It doesn't have to end so soon, Katie. It can last the rest of the school year."

"Really? Knowing that it'll end in a month?"

"That makes it all the more special," he said, glaring at the Hufflepuffs until they scurried away.

"Okay then. The Gryffindor locker room should be empty now..."

The next six weeks sped by quickly. Marcus and Katie spent most of that time together in the library, studying for the O.W.L.s and the N.E.W.T.s. They also spent all the time they could in the Slytherin locker room, just the two of them. Usually they were eager for school to end for the summer, but this year both of them desperately wished the days were longer.

After their exams were finished, they spent most of their time curled up together near the lake. Neither of them cared that the rest of the school knew about their relationship now. Though not many people seemed to notice - people were too excited about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup to pay attention to who was snogging whom.

Their friends knew, of course. Perhaps because Marcus was leaving Hogwarts so soon, Katie's friends weren't quite as upset as they might have been otherwise. Marcus's friends teased him about his Gryffindor and made vulgar jokes until he hexed Warrington and Bletchley, who had to spend a full day in the hospital wing. He tripped Pucey one evening as they walked down the stairs to the Slytherin dungeons - not at the top of the staircase, but Pucey fell a good enough distance to teach him not to pester Marcus

. He also felt compelled to snarl at the first and second year students in the hallways to counterbalance any perceived softening of his reputation. He once picked one of them up and held the boy in the air for a few seconds, but Katie caught him doing it and made him promise to stop.

"Who would have thought?" Katie said, as they sat on the Hogwarts Express. They were alone in the carriage; their friends were thoughtfully giving them privacy, and other students who wandered in were quickly scared off by Marcus.

"Who would have thought what?" Marcus asked, absently playing with a strand of Katie's blonde hair.

"Who would have thought that we'd fall in love with each other?"

"I try not to use the same line twice, but this one is the truth: I've never felt this way about anyone before," Marcus said.

Katie laughed softly. "I've never felt this way either."

"Not even about Wood?"

"I thought I was in love with Oliver," she replied. "But I know I'm in love with you. It's different when the person loves you back - that's what separates love from a crush."

"I don't mean to interrupt your philosophlizing," Marcus said, "But we're wasting valuable time." He slid his hand under her shirt.

Katie pushed his hand away and snuggled against his side. "Not here, silly troll," she said. "Anyone could walk by and see us."

Marcus shook his head in amusement. "You do know that you're the only person in the world who can call me that without getting hexed and beaten, right?"

"I should hope so," she said, "Because I know you love me." Her smile grew sadder. "Good bye, Marcus. I'll always love you."

"We'll find each other after you graduate," he said.

They didn't say anything else until the train reached Platform 9 and 3/4. Even then, everything had already been said, so they only said good bye and wished each other luck in life.

End


End file.
